It was the summer of 1914 when you were last in Brittany; on the coast at the house you all jokingly called Château Fairfax. You had come over from the States, or perhaps you had just returned from Paris or Istanbul.

The summer was perfect. Its days were long, shining and beautiful, its nights warm and intimate. You remember tennis and drinks on the lawn. You remember strolls down the glittering coast, the waves roaring like some ancient choir singing vespers as they retreated across the sands and back into the Celtic Sea. Part of you wished you could join them. You remember Genevieve’s birthday picnic and the gentle laughter of friends and family.

You fell in love that summer, though you do not remember the moment. The sun, the wine and even a little restlessness conjured a haze that lies on your mind even now. So much is a blur of music, poetry and laughter.

It is in your dreams that you remember it most clearly, perhaps because that summer felt like walking in a dream. Lawrence once told you that he believed the land of memories must share a great border with the land of dreams, and that dreams are older than brooding Tyre, or the contemplative Sphinx, or garden-girdled Babylon.

You recalled your Shakespeare, and wondered how many now ‘cried to dream again.’

“It is the same for all. There is one fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and for the unclean; for the man who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good man is, so is the sinner; as the swearer is, so is the one who is afraid to swear. This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one fate for all men. Ye also, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and madness is in their hearts while they live. Afterwards they go to the dead.” – Ecclesiastes chapter 9: verses 2 & 3.

It is September, 1919. The leaves are beginning to change, and you are returning to Brittany. You arrived first in Paris, to meet with old friends with older faces. You wonder how you must look to them now. The city was sullen and the salons were silent. Such a silence in Paris, you had never known.

When word had reached Fairfax House about the war, it had seemed unreal. Word of the war soon turned into its grasping tentacles, which descended upon your perfect summer, to tear it to pieces, and tear your family and friends apart. The brave boys went to fight and the good girls did their duty, or perhaps they fled to the States, and who could blame them? Genevieve’s parents had done just that.

Genevieve never left. She lingered there on the coast of Brittany, even after Lawrence took his own life out of cowardice, rather than face the German guns. It has been five unkind years, for everyone, perhaps most of all for her. The thought of it all, seeing her again, seeing everyone again, still twists your stomach and you wonder sometimes if your heart can bear it. But you promised you would come back to see her.

Perhaps companionship can bring her the respite that no doctor can provide. Perhaps when everyone is together again she might recover from the malaise that has engulfed her. And if not, at least you will have a chance to say goodbye.

OOC Information

‘Lords and Ladies’ is a horror game of two parts, set first in the summer of 1914, and and then in September 1919 on the coast of Brittany in France. The players will be taking the roles of a group of friends who are reuniting for the first time after half a decade of history engulfed by what has been called the ‘seminal catastrophe’ or perhaps seminal tragedy of the Twentieth Century, the First World War. A conflict that shook the planet, devoured the European continent, claimed the lives of ten million soldiers and almost countless civilians and was the coup de grâce to four empires. It marked the passing of an age more clearly than the Fall of Rome or the death of the French Ancien Régime. It is in the wake of that conflict that the players will be coming together to share their stories, to reminisce about better days and to try find comfort among friends, even in the wake of great horrors. The game will consist of two events, the first taking place in the summer of 1914 (OOC this will be a short afternoon event on Sunday 31st May 2015). The second and main event will take place between Friday the 11th and Sunday the 13th of of September 1919 (OOC this will be the weekend of Friday the 11th to Sunday the 13th of September 2015). The game will be run by the Shunned House ref team using the Room 13 system.

Themes Warning: This is going to be a heavy one. A game of Lovecraftian horror set against the backdrop of a country, indeed a world stretched to breaking point across bloody fields. It will be a game of horror, both cosmic and personal and will also explore themes of tragedy, futility and despair and will involve the subject of suicide. We say all of this of course not to put anyone off, but to ensure that there is no doubt that our player characters will face suffering, madness and death in ways that we hope will be meaningful, though probably not survivable. If you are interested but wary then please speak to us about any concerns you might have.

Total cost for the event is £125. To reserve a place, a deposit of £25 will be payable via Pay Pal as of 7.00 on Friday 24th of October online at www.shunnedhouse.weebly.com. There are limited player slots so please book early to avoid disappointment!